U-M plays role in effort to support manufacturing innovation, encourage insourcing

Adapted from a White House press release

President Barack Obama’s plan announced Friday to highlight the successful trend of insourcing – companies from around the world bringing jobs back and making new investments here in the United States – calls for a $1 billion investment to create a new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

The announcement reflects work from the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, on which U-M has been front and center, President Mary Sue Coleman said in a statement following Obama’s announcement.

“I am thrilled that the University of Michigan has been part of the push to place advanced manufacturing on the national agenda. Our own Sridhar Kota has worked with the White House tirelessly on this effort for three years, and the university's commitment increased with our membership in the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, made up of six prominent universities and a like number of corporations,” Coleman said. “To see this happen so quickly at the federal level confirms for me that manufacturing is essential to our country, not only in the midwest but coast to coast. President Obama's announcement to start now, using immediate funding with a pilot program, will demonstrate the power of the idea to bring together America's best, and to help grow our economy.”

Obama’s Blueprint for An Economy Built to Last lays out a number of ways to encourage insourcing, support investment in the manufacturing sector, and create jobs in the United States.

The National Network for Manufacturing Innovation calls for building a network of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation around the country, serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence that will help to make manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States.

The president also announced that the administration will take immediate steps to launch a pilot institute for manufacturing innovation as part of its We Can’t Wait efforts. The pilot institute will be funded from $45 million of existing resources from the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce and the National Science Foundation, and will be selected from a competitive application process.